I Love You Anyway
by DaughterofHermes130
Summary: My mother was never there. My sister isn't my real sister and a cousin that I didn't know existed. The family I never knew but I love them all the same. An enticing story about a half-blood who finds a world that she can finally belong in.
1. Dreams and Family Secrets

**Thank you to my beta, Nellis Daughter of Athena. You would not be able to understand this story without her.**

**Disclaimers: I do not own Percy Jackson or The Princess Bride.**

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Dreams

(Prologue)

I remember my dreams from before I knew who I was. They always started in nothingness. And then I would hear the noises, screams of pain, owls, shouts of triumph, and the voice that said. "I claim you." I would look around in the darkness, wanting to see the speaker and afraid that I might.

**Family Secrets**

_'My dad is going to kill me if I'm late,'_ that was the only thought in my head as I rushed through the streets of Seattle. My name is Katalina Markos. I'm thirteen years old, and I was going to be late. I was going to be late to pick up my little sister Sophia. I'm in advanced classes in school and she has a music class at the YMCA after her school. So I have to go pick her up because she is eleven and our dad won't let her ride on the bus by herself so I have to get her. I've only been able to since my birthday a week ago. Before I had to go to the Y and wait with her until Dad got there. So I was running late because I got to talking to a couple of friends about how this boy in my class, Danny Brooks, wouldn't leave me alone. And then I remembered that I had to get Sophia. So there I was running down the street and I wasn't looking where I was going and I crashed right into someone. Luckily for me they didn't seem to care.

"Ya okay?" It was a girl who looked couple years older then me. She had short dark chocolate- colored hair with purple streaks in it. She grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

"I'm fine, are you?" I said stooping to get my books. The girl nodded and leaned over to help.

"Here ya go," she said dumping two notebooks into my open bag. The girl smiled and walked off down the way I came._ 'She seemed nice'_ I said to myself heading back down the street. Then I remembered Sophia again. 'Crap' was then the only thought in my head.

"I'm sorry," I said for the fifteenth time, I'd been counting. "Please, please, please don't tell Dad," I said unlocking the door.

"Don't worry, Dad has a meeting tonight he won't be home 'til late," Sophia sighed. We didn't get to see much of our dad. And our mom left before Sophia was born. She sent her to live with me and Dad when she was a year old because mom couldn't take care of her. Mom lives in San Francisco now. Sophia gets to see her sometimes but for some reason I don't, Dad won't let me.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked her. Sophia shrugged.

"Watch a movie?"

"Sure, I'll make supper. What do you want?" I headed for our kitchen.

"Spaghetti." She called over her shoulder as she headed for the home theater. (Our dad is really rich.)

Spaghetti is a favorite meal of ours. When we were little and before Dad worked so much. We would all sit down for supper and Sophia and I would make patterns with the noodles before we put the sauce on. Now it was just me and Sophia. Thirty minutes later we both were eating bowls of spaghetti and watching The Princess Bride, one of our favorite movies. We can probably quote the whole thing between us. Yes we are geeks.

By the time we finished eating it was about eight. I paused the movie to go get my pajamas. I got up to my room and was looking through the drawers for my favorite pair of sweats when I heard a crashing noise and my sister screaming. I grabbed my old baseball bat from fifth grade and ran downstairs. When I got to the home theater the first thing I saw was a huge lion standing over my sister. It was to big to be real, and so I basically lost it, and started banging it around the head and neck. After a minute or two, I vaguely noticed that somebody was telling me to stop. Finally Sophia took the bat away from me, and I calmed down.

"Wha'...what happened?" I asked looking around the room. The lion was lying still on the floor.

"Well, you went upstairs. And I thought I heard something outside so I went to look out the window." Sophia pointed towards the now nonexistent wall.

"Let me guess," I said looking from the wall to the giant lion on the floor. "That thing came through the wall and..." I looked at Sophia.

"It looked around and...Well... It, it sniffed around and looked upstairs. Like it wanted...you." Sophia looked up at me wide-eyed. "It did want you." Both me and Sophia spun around at the sound of the new voice. Standing next to the lion was a girl in a old leather jacket that looked to big for her. It took me a minute to recognize her.

"You're the girl I ran into on the street," I said surprised. "How did you get in here? Or more importantly, how did you find me?" I stared at her. She looked at me like I was stupid.

"There's a hole the size of a hell hound in your wall," She said slowly. "An' I took your wallet," She said as an after thought.

"You what?!" I gasped thinking back to when I ran into her. "When...how..." I couldn't think straight, fear was starting to kick in. "What's a hell hound?" Sophia spoke for the first time since the girl showed up. Both of us stared at her. I guess we had forgotten about her.

"It's a great big dog." She said grinning broadly at us. "I'll tell you more if you come with me." I looked at her suspiciously.

"Why would we do that? I asked.

"'Cuz I can explain that dream you've been havin' every night since your birthday." She said turning to go back through the wall. "And you didn't kill that Nemean Lion, It's just stunned." She headed out the wall. Sophia and I looked at each other.

"Do you think she's lying?" Sophia asked. I shrugged. I was about to say I did, because I know that the Nemean Lion was from Greek mythology and therefore not real, when the lion started to move. We didn't stick around any longer.

"So who are you?" I asked her as we all walked down the street. We rode the bus until the girl told us to get off. We had asked her who she was more then once but she just said that we couldn't talk safely until we were alone. I guess the streets of Seattle at nine at night are as alone as we're gonna get 'cuz she turns to talk to me.

"I'm Charlie Walker, your cousin." She said quietly.

"We don't have cousins," I said looking a Sophia. "Our parents both are the only kids in they're families."

Charlie grinned at us. "I'm talking about your mom's family" She said looking at me. "You two aren't full blood sisters, just half-sisters. You, Katalina, have a different mother then Sophia. My dad is your mom's half-brother." Sophia and I looked at each other.

"But how...why...?" was all Sophia could say.

"I'll tell you everything when we get there," Charlie said pointing up the street. On the corner was a old two-story building. The sign was hard for me to read, (I have dyslexia.) but Charlie read it aloud for me, almost like she knew I couldn't. "It says 'Safe Haven'," she said pointing to the big sign.

"And the Greek around the door says 'safe for demigods, free of dreams' come on." Charlie looked around the street, waited for it to be clear and hurried across. She walked up to the door and said something. I don't know if it was to fast for me to understand or what, but I know I had no clue what she was saying. Somebody on the other side of the door must have said something back that she didn't like because the next thing she said was loud and angry. "Anoixei tin porta sas theous-kataramenos ilithios!" For some reason I could understand that, that meant 'open the door you gods-cursed idiot!' Who ever was inside the door chuckled and opened it. Charlie grabbed Sophia's arm and pulled her inside. I followed them into what seemed to be a long hallway. Sophia was looking through a open door, and Charlie was talking to a boy about a year or two older then her. He glanced over at me and nodded hello. I walked over to them, pulling Sophia along.

"Who are you people?" I asked a little annoyed.

The boy grinned at me. "Claimed?" He asked. It took me a minute to realize he wasn't talking to me. He was asking Charlie a question.

"Claimed... Sorta, she got the dream about a week ago, on her birthday as usual. Of course you know that already. Anyway, she never contacted Danny Brooks; obviously Chiron was worried and sent me. She doesn't seem to know anything." The boy nodded through the whole thing. I wondered how he was supposed to know about my dream. But before I could ask I thought of something else.

"Hey! I know Danny Brooks, he goes to my school, he's been asking me out all year! You mean he's with you?" I asked thinking about the skinny, limping, creepy, Danny. Ever since he started watching me at the beginning of the year I'd tried to stay away from him. But it was like he was obsessed. I never told anybody about it, now I was thinking maybe that hadn't been very smart.

The boy sighed. "My name is Mark Daniels; I run this safe house with my sister Tara. You go with her and sleep. Tomorrow everything will be explained." Mark nodded at a small girl that had come through the door. She looked like him in the eyes. Both of them had black eyes. But that was where the similarities ended. Mark was tall and well built, his hair was almost white. His sister was short and slight; her hair was a dark as her eyes.

Charlie nodded to us. "Go with her, nobody will hurt you here." I nodded. I realized I was beginning to trust Charlie. I wondered if she told the truth though. Something about the way she looked told me no. But still, nobody would lie about the things she had told us. I smiled at her and put my arm around Sophia's shoulder.

"Come," Tara said quietly. We followed her through a door at the end of the hall. As we left I turned to look at her one last time. She was hugging Mark and her back was to us and I could see that it was shaking. I guess because she had been so happy through the whole night, it took me a minute to see that she was crying. It made me scared that someone so happy and brave was crying that hard. Something bad must have happened.

Tara turned to look too. She sighed. "The life of a half-blood is always sad and lonely. Some don't take it as well as others, Charlie is one of them. It is weak of her but she can't help it, just as my brother can't." I looked at her curiously.

"Why aren't you that way? And what's a half-blood?"

Tara looked at me with her dark, endless eyes. "I never had anyone there for me before, how can I miss what I never had? As for your other question, it will be answered tomorrow." She turned away and kept walking. As I followed her I thought about what she said, about not missing what you never had. I had always missed my mother.

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**A/N: Can anyone guess who Charlie, Katalina, Mark and Tara's parents are? The Greek Charlie speaks is romanized off of Google Translate. It really does mean what Katalina thinks it does.**


	2. We are Family

**Disclaimers: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the song, We are Family.

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We are Family

The next morning Sophia woke me up early. Very early.

"Tali, get up right now! If you want breakfast you have to get up." I groaned and rolled over. Sophia was standing over me wearing jeans and a T-shirt. I wondered where she got them because we had both been wearing our school uniforms the night before. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Where did you get those?" I asked looking around the room. We were the only ones in there now, but I knew there had been others. I guessed they had already gone to breakfast.

"Mark got them for me; he gave me some for you too." Sophia was holding a folded pair of jeans and a grey shirt. "Mark said to hurry if you want food." She sat down and looked at me. "Well? Hurry!" I glared at her. I am not a morning person. Unlike Sophia who gets up with the sun.

"Give me those," I growled at her. She grinned and handed them over. I noticed that the jeans and shirt fit perfectly, just the way I like clothes to fit. When I put on the T-shirt I saw that it had a picture of a owl on it. I looked at Sophia's to see if hers had anything on the front too. She had a picture of the Empire State Building with a lightning bolt striking it on a white background. I sighed and slid my feet into the sneakers I had been wearing the night before. Luckily we had both put on our shoes before we left our house. Sophia grabbed me by the hand and pulled me through the door and into the hallway. Charlie was waiting for us, leaning against the wall looking at something in her hand. When we came out she quickly put it in her back pocket. "Y'all ready?" She asked looking at me. I nodded and followed her down the hall and through another door into what looked like a cross between a lunch room at a school, and a mess hall at a summer camp. Something seemed off about the people in the room however. It took a minute before I realized what it was. All the people sitting at the tables were between the ages of eleven and thirteen. There were about ten or twelve older kids, but even they couldn't have been older then eighteen or nineteen.

"Where are all the grown ups?" Sophia asked Charlie. As I looked at her I noticed that Charlie's eyes were red, and she didn't have that little smile I had gotten used to. I wondered if it had anything to do with her crying last night.

"There aren't any adults here. Just teenagers." She guided us to a table with a few seats left. Looking around I saw that the kids mostly fit into two groups. There were the kids that laughed and talked with each other. And then there were the kids that sat and stared quietly. I chose a seat next to a girl with light brown waist-length braids, and a green T-shirt. When she turned to say something to the boy on her right I saw that the shirt had three things of wheat on it-like you'd see on bread packaging or something. Sophia sat down between me and a boy that looked about my age. He had sandy hair and a yellow shirt.

"Hey, Zack Matthews, Son of Apollo," he said cheerfully. I stared at Sophia.

"Who?" I asked looking at him open mouthed.

"Zack, you dummy! She's a newbie!" The girl on my right looked around me to glare good-naturedly at him.

"Well 'scuse me Miss Nature," he shot back. I glanced around for Charlie, hoping she would explain. She had disappeared. I looked back at Sophia, who seemed to be having a good time chatting with Zack. I sighed a little; my sister had always been good at making friends. I was feeling out of place when the girl next to me nudged my shoulder.

"Sorry 'bout Zachary. He's a bit of a loudmouth sometimes, but he's a good guy...I guess. He just hasn't really learned how to pick out newbies yet. I'm Melanie Simmons," she held out her hand and I shook it. Melanie laughed and shook her head. "I wanted the eggs," she said pointing to the plate next to me. I felt my face get hot as I handed it to her.

"So why did he introduce himself as 'Son of Apollo'?" I asked helping myself to pancakes and bacon. Melanie shifted uncomfortably and looked around.

"Mark will explain everything when all of us are done eating. How old are you?" I glanced in the direction she was looking. The guy from last night was sitting at a table turned the sideways so the people eating there were facing us. He was talking to Charlie and another girl with stringy brown hair sitting next to him.

"I turned thirteen last week. How about you?" Melanie grinned at me.

"Twelve, almost thirteen." I nodded and started eating.

After we all had finished breakfast some of the kids began to get up and leave. I started to follow Melanie (who had told me to call her Mel.) She shook her head at me.

"Newbies stay here." Zack said picking up his plate and cup. Mel grinned at us.

"We'll wait outside the doors for you." She said following Zack out into the hall. Both of them put their things in a big plastic bin by the doors. As they left I looked around the room to see who else had stayed. There were two boys that had dark brown hair and where wearing orange shirts with flames on the front. They looked about eleven and twelve and were obviously brothers. The other kid was a girl about my age wearing a red shirt with a boar on it. Unlike the rest of us 'newbies' she stared at all of us sullenly.

"Well come on up here so I don't have to yell," Mark called from the head table. We all stood and walked up to where he was and sat down in front of him. Mark grinned at us.

"We don't bite, well Tanya might." He glanced at the girl to his left. She looked a lot like the girl in the red shirt, but older, maybe sixteen.

"OK first of all, Sophia are you sure you want to stay? You don't have to if you don't want." He looked at the two of us. Sophia nodded.

"I'll stay with my sister."

Mark smiled. "Good. Now the first thing the rest of you need to know that one of your parents isn't really related to you." I nodded remembering what Charlie had told us the night before. The other kids where nodding as well. I guess they had been told that when they got here too. Mark grinned at them.

"Good, your guides told you that much. What they didn't tell you is that your unknown parents aren't human, they're gods." I could feel my jaw drop. Gods, really? That was the best they could come up with? I looked at Charlie; she caught my eye and nodded. Mark continued.

"Most half-bloods are claimed when they come to us. All of you have been but you didn't pay attention so now you're here. This building moves to where we want it to go." The two boys snorted.

"Yeah right," one said rolling his eyes.

"That's impossible," the other stated.

The girl, Tanya glared at them. "It's not impossible you little snots. We can prove it to you." They both smirked at her. "Where did you come from and when did you get here?" She asked them calmly.

"We got here last night in Austin, Texas," he said as though we were mentally challenged or something.

The other girl stared at them. "That's can't be right, I got here last night in Lansing, Michigan."

Sophia looked at all three of the confused. "But we got here last night in Seattle."

Tanya grinned at us. "Exactly, all of you got here the same night but in different states. Do you believe us now?" Mark sighed and looked around at us all.

"All of your parents told you who they are. You just didn't listen. Most gods claim their children through dreams. Charlie's dad sometimes will come in person, but not a lot. He's a very busy man, isn't he Charlie?" Charlie nodded looking at her hands. I saw that she had something tattooed on each palm.

"So who are our parents?" I asked. The other three nodded in agreement.

"Tommy and Chris your dad is Hephaestus, God of the Forge. Sara's dad is Ares, God of War. And your mom, Katalina is Athena, Goddess of Wisdom." Mark pointed to each of us as he said our names. We all stared at him.

"Who is your parent?" One of the boys, I think it was Tommy, asked.

"My father is Morpheus, God of Dreams. That's how I knew each of you dreams and so your parents." I shivered a little to think of Mark inside my head.

"Okay, you all need to be paired up with an experienced demigod..." Tanya said looking around at all of us. Mark and Charlie nodded.

"I'll take Katalina and Sophia," Charlie said quietly. Mark glanced at her.

"Are you sure that's wise? Considering...you know." He said a little uncomfortably. She looked up at him angrily.

"I'm fine," She snapped. "Anyway, it'll help me, ya know keep my occupied." Tanya poked Marks arm.

"You know she's right." She said quietly. Mark shrugged and turned to her.

"Will you take Sara? She is you sister after all." Tanya looked at the girl.

"Sure, I'll even take the little jackasses over there." She pointed to Tommy and Chris. They glowered at her but offered no protest.

"OK, I guess you all can go then. See you at lunch." Mark got up and left through a door behind his side of the table. I looked at Sophia and stood up. Charlie glanced up at us.

"I'll be right out. Just wait for me in the hall." I nodded and took Sophia's hand and headed between tables and out the door. We both grabbed our plates as we past. Mel and Zack were waiting for us just like that promised.

"Welcome to the family!" Mel said as she grinned and hugged me.

"_We are family, get up ev'rybody and sing_." Zack sang dancing in circles around us. Mel glared at him.

"Shut up Zack." He looked at her reproachfully.

"My father is the god of music and you want me to stop singing?!" She nodded.

"You aren't very good," she said shrugging.

"OH!" Zack spun on his heel and stomped off a little ways crossing his arms. Mel laughed and shook her head.

"So Zack's that son of Apollo, what are you?" Mel gestured to her shirt.

"Can't you tell? I'm a daughter of Demeter, goddess of agriculture." She grinned and turned to follow Zack down the hall. He had seen that no one cared about him getting upset and left.

"See you later," She called.

I nodded and turned to look at Sophia. "They will be good friends."

Charlie had come out of the mess hall. I glanced at her. She looked sad still but not as much as before.

"Are you alright?" I asked her worriedly.

"I'm fine...one of my friends is missing." She looked at her hands.

"I'm so sorry," I said not sure if I should hug her or something.

"What are your tattoos of?" I asked hoping to take her mind off things. She sighed.

"One of them is a caduceus, that's my dad's symbol. He's Hermes, the god of thieves and messengers. The other is Cerberus, the three headed dog that guards the Underworld. That's Hades symbol. He's the dad of one of my friends and the god of... Well death sorta. Anyway the friend that went missing is the only living son of Hades. She smiled a little, rubbing the three dog heads on her left hand.

"He has the same ones on his hands. We got them together about a year ago." Charlie's smile grew a little bigger. "I'd gotten knife across my right palm pretty bad. The healers said that it hit a big vein or something, I don't remember. Anyway, Nico came to see me. That's my friend, Nico di Angelo. So he came to see me and I was all worried I was gonna have a big scar. And Nico didn't make fun of me for it. I remember that 'cuz it was the first time he didn't tease me even a little. He just said that if there was a scar he would take me and we would get matching tattoos to hide it. I got a little bitty scar. Like you could barely see it. But Nico said 'no it's a scar and we're getting the tattoos'. I think he just wanted the tattoo quit frankly. But anyway so we get the tattoos. We were planning on only getting one a piece but I thought it would be cool to have both our parents symbols. I joke now that whenever we're in a fight we both fight with each other. Even if we are far apart in different battles." Charlie was grinning by the time she finished her story.

"Did it hurt?" Sophia asked her looking at Charlie's outstretched hands. She shook her head.

"Nah, I've had worse. 'Sides we had the Apollo kids give us something for the pain first. So are y'all ready to learn some fighting skills?" We looked at each other.

"Why do we need them? Aren't we going home?" Charlie looked sadly at us.

"You...you can't go home Katalina. You know too much." I stared at her.

"Why can't I go back to my dad?" Charlie sighed.

"Because monsters can find you a lot easier now that you know who you are. I went to your dads last night and told him where you were. He understood, he told me Athena had come to him in a dream and told him. He also said to take Sophia to her moms." Sophia gasped.

"Why doesn't he want me? Doesn't he love me?" she whispered tearing up. Charlie hugged her.

"Oh honey, he loves you. That's why he wants you to go to your mom. Now that the monsters know what Katalina is they probably think you're a demigod too. It wouldn't be safe." Sophia nodded a little. Charlie let go of her. "Now go hug your sister." Sophia grinned and turned to me. I smiled and held out my arms and she huddled next to me like she did when she was little.

"So monsters are real too?" I asked over Sophia's head. Charlie nodded grimly.

"'Fraid so. The one that attacked you last night was a Nemean Lion. He followed us here and now he's right outside the front doors." She sighed. "I hate it when they do that, we always have to send someone out to fight them before we can leave. Otherwise they can follow us to wherever we go next." I looked at Sophia.

"Who's going to have to fight it?" Charlie shrugged. "I dunno, Probably Tanya and a couple of her brothers. They're our best fighters right now. 'Cuz of their dad and all." She grinned at us. "So anyway, we'll probably leave for your moms after supper. Do you think your mom would let us stay a night at her place?" I turned to Sophia since I had never stayed with our mom, well I guess I should say her mom now, seeing as Athena is mine.

Sophia shrugged. "I guess you could if you don't tell her what you are."

Charlie nodded. "Of course we wouldn't tell her. It'll just be one night anyway and then we can leave." I looked at her.

"Where are you taking me then? I asked confused. I thought we would be coming back here. But that didn't seem likely since we needed to stay the night somewhere.

Charlie grinned happily. "Camp Half-Blood."

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**A/N: What do you think of Zack and Mel? They just sort of happened while I was writing this chapter. Do you want more of them? Less? Also Nico will be making a live appearance later in the story.**


	3. Mel's Revenge

**Thanks again to my wonderful beta: Nellis Daughter of Athena.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

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**Mel's Revenge**

"And...Fire!" The noise of ten bowstrings being released sounded _almost_ in unison.

"Yes! Another perfect shot!" Zack crowed proudly.

"Damn it!" Mel's shots were less then wonderful. I wasn't sure the first couple arrows had even hit the target. The targets were twenty-three different kinds of monsters. Mine was some multi headed thing; Zack's was a huge thing that looked like a man with horns etc.

"Come on Mel, you're getting better with each shot." I said studying my own arrow's placement.

I'd hit the head...or arm of whatever mine was. These things were hard to tell whatever the hell they were.

"Of course you would say that, Daughter of Athena." Mel's grin told me she was joking. I looked over at Sophia, surprisingly; she was very good at archery, almost as good as Zack really. Even though she wasn't a half-blood Mark and Charlie had said she could practice with me. And of course she was better at the first training session then I was.

"So what do you know about this Camp Half-Blood?" I asked picking a new arrow from the quiver I was sharing with Mel.

"Well I know it's a camp for half-bloods." Zack answered pulling back on his string. Mel raised an eyebrow at him.

"Really? I had no idea! Thank you so much for clearing that up for us." Her voice was heavy with sarcasm. I grinned and glanced at Mel.

"Do you know anything about it?" I asked her releasing my arrow. It missed the heads but I got its leg. Mel shrugged.

"All I've heard is that it's supposed to be a safe place for people like us. And there's more stuff like this." She gestured around the group of kids with bows. Charlie was in a corner with a few kids with knives. Mark was teaching the sword group, and one of Zack's brothers taught us.

"You mean freaks with only one parent that they know of? Kids who could be killed at any moment? There's a place that's safe for them? Wow," I was getting worked up.

"Hey, my mother says it's not nice to call people freaks. She says you should say 'unique' or 'special'" Zack said looking self-righteous. Mel rolled her eyes.

"Obviously _your_ mother would say that. You've got to be the one of most 'special' and 'unique' people on the planet! We're freaks but we're family too. Family's all have their issues. Ours just happens to be that our life expectancy is like thirty years less then the average person. Minimum." Zack glared at her mention of his mom.

"Yeah, we're all one big happy family." He growled releasing his bow. 'Twang' the arrow hit his monster right square in the heart. I wondered what had made him so bitter all of a sudden. Still, he probably had a good reason. If his godly parent had been as involved as mine I couldn't blame him for getting a little upset.

An hour and a half later I headed to lunch with Mel and Sophia. We had finished our archery class but Zack had stayed behind to talk to his brother that had taught the class.

"So what's your story? How did you get here?" I asked looking at Mel.

"I got here three days ago from Portland, Oregon. I've got a little brother at home and my dad isn't very 'interested' in children. I would've brought Jacky with me if I could, just to get him away." Mel sighed. "Both of us are in danger, me from monsters out of stories, my brother from my father. When I left, I told him I was going to kill dragons and that it was a secret, I said 'you can't tell anyone Jacky, do you understand?' He said he did but he's only eight, as soon as I can I'm gonna get him out. I don't know where I'll take him, but I'll take him." Mel finished angrily. Then she grinned. "I wonder if all half-bloods have family issues," she said reaching into her pocket. "Here's a picture of us." It looked like it was taken about a year or two earlier. Mel's hair was shorter and she wasn't as happy looking as I was used to seeing her. The little boy next to her was obviously her brother. He had the same bright blue eyes she did and was missing two teeth in the front. Mel's arm was protectively around him. I smiled a little thinking about this little boy whose life was still normal.

"So if you got here three days ago why haven't you left yet?" Sophia asked her. Mel put her picture back and shrugged.

I heard it's because they only let kids out one day a week, they have to change the day so monsters don't get you as soon as you leave." She grinned. "They sound like such optimistic people don't they?" I nodded think about Charlie's friend, Nico. She had been upset but not really surprised. I wondered if in a couple years I would be that way If Zack or Mel disappeared would I be shocked? Would they if it was the other way around? What would happen to Sophia now? Would she go back to being normal? Or would she live in constant danger? I was shaken from my worries by an arm thrown across my shoulder.

"Hello my lovelies!" Zack hollered in a painfully fake British accent. "Your knight in shining armor has arrived!" He proclaimed grandly. Mel carefully plucked his offending arm from her own shoulders.

"Gods save us! Do you _own_ a bar of soap?" Her nose crinkled as she quickly stepped away. Zack followed grinning.

"C'mon Melon Head, you know you love me." Mel looked horrified.

"I do not." She stated coolly.

"But you will," Zack said in a sing-songy voice. With that he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the nose and ran. The three of us girls stared after him, and then at each other.

"Don't. Say. Anything." Mel growled. "He is not right and never will be in that subject." Sophia looked at her.

"How much of their parent's power do demigods get?" Mel shrugged still looking angry

"I don't know. I haven't tried mine much yet. Why?" Sophia looked uncomfortable

"Because Zack's dad is Apollo." Mel and I both stared at her.

"Yeah. So?" Mel snapped.

"Well...isn't Apollo the god of prophecy?" Sophia said quickly.

"Wha'...oh..." I said looking fearfully at Mel.

"He's dead. Soo very, very dead. I'll get him. I'll have revenge." It was then that I decided that

Mel was the scariest person I knew.

We found out what Mel's 'revenge' was at lunch. I watched Zack pick up his sandwich at the table across from ours. (He had thought that maybe sitting with us after what he did in the hall wasn't a good idea.) I noticed that there was something moving on it. The people sitting next to him stared at it; some of them even got up and moved seats.

"What are you doing to his food?" Sophia whispered looking at Mel. Our friend grinned proudly.

"I'm using my power over plants to grow the wheat in his bread. I hope I can get it big enough that I can spell something with it. He won't know what hit him." She said gleefully. We all stared intently as the little wheat stalks grew larger. Mel's grin suddenly got bigger. "Watch this," she whispered twitching her hands. The stalks began forming a pattern. By that time everybody in the mess was staring at Zack. Mel continued to move her hands and as she did words began to appear in the air. Zack's face got white as he read them.

"What does it say?" I asked quietly. Mel glanced over at Sophia.

"It's not for minor ears." She said meaningfully. My sister huffed and crossed her arms, turning away to talk to her neighbor. After a second Mark yelled down to Mel to 'knock it off so we could all eat.' After our meal Mark announced that Tanya and two of her brothers would be fighting the Nemean Lion. And that after they returned, we would be going to our first destination.

"Make sure you get all your things and come right back here. This is the only room that moves and we don't want to leave anyone behind." He called after us as we headed to our various rooms. Sophia and I got our stuff and returned to the mess to wait for Mel and Zack. Neither one was speaking to the other, as we were told the fight had gone well and we would be leaving soon. However by the time we got to San Francisco Mel was smiling at his jokes and Zack didn't duck every time Mel moved an inch. I had hopes for their friendship.

"Camp Half-Blood is a camp that you can go to during the summer, or all year if you want...or need to. It's a safe place for half-bloods because it has a magical border around it to keep monsters out. You're going for the summer right now, but that might change." Charlie explained all this in hushed tones. I didn't know why. The other passengers on the San Francisco bus didn't seem to care. I could have sworn I heard one of them tell the guy next to him that he'd been abducted by aliens.

"What do you do there?" Sophia asked, keeping one eye on the street signs. I'd never been to her mom's house so we were relying on her to get us there.

"Well there are a lot of other demigods there, especially in the summer. So you'll get to meet some of your family. And they'll train you in fighting skills, battle strategy, and stuff like that. Sometimes you get to go on a quest. That doesn't usually happen till after you've been a camper for a few years." Charlie said looking around warily.

"How long have you been going?" I asked confused by her jumpiness.

"This will be my fifth summer," she murmured fingering her beaded necklace.

"What's with the beads?" I asked right as Sophia said, "We're here." We all stood up and grabbed our bags. Mark had given me and Sophia a backpack full of what I assumed were clothes. Charlie had a black messenger bag with her things. As we stepped off the bus Charlie looked quickly around and darted across the street. She waited for us to catch up, shifting from one foot to the other. "What is wrong with you?" I asked shifting my bag from one shoulder to the other.

"San Francisco isn't safe for demigods. Well nowhere is safe for them. Here is worse then most places though. I can't wait to get away from here." She looked over at me. "Didn't you ask me something?" I nodded.

"I asked about your necklace." Charlie smiled and started walking.

"Every year you survive at camp you get a bead. I've got the Empire State Building, a cabin, a hellhound, and a temple for the gods. How much further?" She called up to Sophia who had run ahead.

"This is it on the next corner across the street." She answered crossing over and waiting in front of a four-story building. She stepped up the stairs and pushed a button as we crossed after her.

"Who is it?" Even though I knew she wasn't my mother I still got choked up hearing her voice.

"It's me Mom, Sophia. I brought Katalina and a friend of hers." Charlie looked amused as we were buzzed in.

"Is that all I am to you? A friend?" Sophia glared at her, starting up the stairs inside.

"I don't even know your last name." She said coolly looking at door numbers. Charlie grinned at her.

"It's Walker, Charlie Walker." Right as she stopped talking Sophia knocked on a door.

"This is it." Almost instantly it opened. I don't know how I didn't notice before but I look nothing like her. Sophia and her mom look alike but I didn't match them.

"My girls," she held out her arms and hugged us both. I pulled away.

"I know I'm not your daughter." I said. She looked at me and Sophia, then Charlie.

"Sorry Mom, this is Charlie Walker." Sophia said heading past her mom into the apartment.

"She's gonna take Tali to a special camp."

"Come in, please call me Laney," she suddenly seemed nervous. We came in and sat down on the couch. Sophia disappeared into her bedroom to drop of her things. When she came back out her mom gestured to a seat next to me. Strangely Laney kept standing, after a minute she looked at Charlie. Studying her in a way. "So you're taking Katalina to a camp?" Charlie nodded in answer. "Alright, would this be Camp Half-Blood by any chance?" All three of us started at the mention of half-bloods. Laney sighed. "That's a yes then. Who are your parents?" She asked me and Charlie. I was shocked that she knew what we were.

"Um, Athena," I said not sure I should tell her. She nodded still looking at Charlie, who for some reason was looking uncomfortable.

"Hermes," she muttered looking almost ashamed. Laney's face relaxed some.

"Ah, don't worry. I won't hold it against you." Charlie raised her eyebrows. I wondered what Laney meant. Hold what against Charlie?

"How do you know about all this myth stuff?" I asked her. She looked at Sophia guiltily.

"It wasn't supposed to happen so soon. He promised." She was muttering to herself. We all stared at each other.

"Who promised? What did he promise?" Sophia said confused. Her mom looked sadly at us.

"Her father said I would have more time with her." Charlie relaxed.

"Oh, he's sending her to live with you. I'm not taking Sophia to camp. Just Katalina." Laney looked like she was about to cry.

"But she can't. It's not safe for her now. It's not safe for any of you. You have to leave!" Sophia's eyes got wide.

"You don't want me either?" Laney gasped.

"Of course I want you. I can't have you though."

"Why?" I asked getting mad. What was Sophia going to do now? She already lost one home. Now she was losing another. Laney sighed.

"Sophia's father said San Francisco wouldn't be safe for her once she knew about demigods and Western civilization."

"But why!" Sophia was almost yelling now. Her mom gazed sadly at her.

"Because you're a half-blood."

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**A/N: So Sophia is a demigod too. Surprise, surprise. Any guesses about her parent? Please review.**


	4. Familiar Friend

**Familiar Friend**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

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**

Silence. The three of us stared from Laney to each other. Then all hell broke loose.

"What! I'm supposed to take one demigod to camp. Just one! I can't take two! I don't have enough supplies or weapons for them. I can't protect both of them!" Charlie screamed at nobody in particular.

"Mom! How could you do this? How could you lie to me? I'm supposed to be the normal one!" Sophia shrieked. Thanks sis, love you too. I was in shock. Both of us were half-bloods? What were the odds of that happening? Could our parents not keep it in their pants? I mean really.

"Were you pregnant when you left us?" I asked, thinking that could be the reason for the spilt. Laney shook her head.

"No, I wasn't. I met Sophia's father right after I moved here. It was easy enough to pretend she was your sister. But now you know what you are. You've got to leave. Get to camp as soon as you can." She stood and glanced out the window. "The sun's going down, you should go." I stared up at her.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked bitterly. Charlie looked over at me.

"I know a place we can stay. I can get more things for Sophia there too." Sophia stared disbelievingly at us.

"That's it then? We just pack up and leave? I don't even know who my father is! I can't just leave my only family." Sophia who was normally so calm was having a meltdown. Something she said made sense though.

"Who is Sophia's dad?" I asked, thinking about the kids I'd met at the shelter. None of them fit quite right. Laney shrugged.

"I know it sounds awful, but I don't know. He never told me what god he was. Just that he was one." Charlie looked thoughtful.

"What did he say his name was?" She asked. Sophia's mom smiled a little.

"Fred, he said his name was Fred." Sophia looked appalled by this information.

"Fred? That was the best he could come up with?" I was holding her down in her seat by then. Charlie stood up looking at Laney.

"Can I use your phone?" She asked urgently. Laney nodded toward the kitchen and Charlie disappeared through the door. I heard a muffled conversation. I was beginning to feel awkward when she returned looking relaxed.

"We can stay with a friend of mine from camp." Laney nodded and looked back at Sophia.

"You'll need to pack up." She said quietly. Sophia glared at her as she headed down to her room. We heard her stomping around and a minute later she came out with a backpack full of stuff. She stood looking sullenly at her mother. Just when I thought, it couldn't get more uncomfortable Charlie cleared her throat.

"Not to rush you, but we should leave soon before our scent gets to strong and puts your mom in danger." I got up picking up my own bag. Sophia stalked out the door without saying a word to her mom. Charlie and I said goodbye and thank you and followed her. Laney closed the door after us looking sad.

We were all quiet as we got back on the bus. I didn't understand why Sophia was so upset. Her mom had been trying to keep her safe.

"Why are you so angry?" I asked looking over at Sophia. She didn't answer me. Charlie leaned over.

"If she's anything like most demigods, she's feeling betrayed right now. I know I did when I found out what I was. My dad was around more then most. I still got mad when he told me." She turned back to the street signs. I sat there feeling strangely more left out then earlier in the day. Now that Sophia was a known half-blood I didn't have to worry about her feeling excluded. But now I noticed her and Charlie had more in common than I did with either one of them. I hoped that whomever we were going to see was more like me.

Charlie knocked loudly on the door. After about a minute it opened to reveal a boy between mine and Charlie's ages, maybe fourteen.

"Hey, Matt. Is your sister still here?" Charlie asked him. He nodded letting us in.

"She's in her room. Mom and Dad are both at work. Who are they?" He said looking at us curiously.

"Katalina and Sophia. They're... you know." He nodded pointing down the hall. Charlie thanked him and walked to a door and threw it open.

"Gods curse it! Can't you knock?" A girl in her late teens or early twenties stuck her head out. I gasped when I saw her face. She had my eyes and hair. The girl looked like an older version of me. She smiled when she saw us.

"Oh, Katalina, Sophia, this is Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Katalina and Sophia." Charlie introduced us. I continued to stare at Annabeth.

"Katalina? Are you all right?" She said looking worriedly at me. Charlie laughed.

"She's fine Annie. You forgot how weird it is to meet a sister you didn't know existed. Ow!" Annabeth had hit the back of her head.

"And you forgot I don't like to be called Annie." I was in shock again today. This was my sister? I had a real blood sister.

"Are we really sisters?" I asked as Annabeth came out fully out of her room. She nodded and led us back down the hall and into the kitchen.

"Yeah, and you have more at camp, brothers too." Annabeth looked at Charlie. "So what's up with you? You made it sound urgent on the phone. And why did you use a phone anyway? Why not IM?" She asked pulling out cups and filling them with water.

"Well we were at a mortal's house and I figured it would be better to use a phone. I called because I volunteered to take Katalina to camp and Sophia to her mother's house here in town. But now her mom told us that Sophia is a demigod too. I need more supplies and we need a place to stay for the night." Charlie took a glass from Annabeth.

"So why did you volunteer? I'd think you'd be ready to get home to your brothers and Nico." Charlie looked at her sadly.

"You don't know? Percy didn't tell you? Nico disappeared three days ago." Annabeth put her arms around Charlie.

"He'll come back. Try not to worry too much." Charlie raised her eyebrows.

"Try not to worry? What would you do if it was Percy missing?" Annabeth looked at her calmly. "I've been in this situation before. He went missing, and nobody saw him for a few weeks. When he returned, I was about to light his funeral shroud." Charlie nodded, and after a second she grinned.

"I heard from Travis and Connor that he was with Calypso the whole time. And that he almost stayed with her forever." I didn't know who Calypso was but whoever she was she made Annabeth angry.

"Well Travis and Connor are sons of Hermes. Don't believe everything they say. Back to the subject of you staying here, I don't think it'll be a problem. I've got some old celestial bronze things in my closet you can use." Sophia looked exited about having her own weapon. I'd been given a little knife and a sword that shrunk down to a tiny pencil sharpener. Mark said that after studying Riptide, Hephaestus kids had worked out a way to make all big weapons shrink into something else. I didn't know what Riptide was but I was glad I wasn't carrying around a huge sword all the time. Annabeth took us back to her room and Sophia picked out a bow and quiver full of arrows. They were newer then most of everything else so they shrank down to hair clips. After Charlie tried unsuccessfully to steal two ten-dollar bills of the dresser, we settled down to watch movies until bed. As I climbed in a sleeping bag I thought about how friendly Annabeth was and how she and Charlie made me feel like I belonged.

I awoke to the smell of waffles. Stumbling into the kitchen I saw Annabeth at the counter and a way to happy and awake Sophia sitting at the table.

"You sleep well? Charlie's in the bathroom still so you'll have to wait." I nodded and sat down. I was about to fall back asleep when Charlie finally came out.

"Mornin' everybody." She said brightly plopping herself down next to me. Annabeth and Sophia returned her greeting cheerfully. I just nodded tiredly.

"I like your shirt Charlie." Annabeth said, putting a plate of food on the table and sitting down.

I was inwardly debating going to the bathroom now, or eating while it was hot. Sugar won and I helped myself. Charlie got back up to model her outfit. I grinned a little seeing that the white shirt she wore with green cargo pants said, **'women who behave rarely make history.' **It pretty much summed up everything I knew about Charlie. After breakfast I headed to the bathroom and got dressed. Sophia, Charlie, and Annabeth were waiting when I came out. We all sat down and talked about our trip.

"If you had enough money you could fly part of the way." Annabeth suggested. Charlie counted under her breath.

"I don't have enough to get us to New York, but we could get to St. Louis. Then we could ride a train up north. Maybe stop in Covington."

"What's in Covington?" Sophia asked her. Annabeth grinned almost evilly.

"Charlie's mom. You could stay with her one night." Charlie groaned at this idea. "C'mon" Annabeth said giggling. "You know you love her." Charlie glared at her.

"Yeah I do, but she's always fussing over me. 'Are you being safe Charlie? You aren't getting into trouble are you? Charlotte Walker! You are just like your father.' I mean duh Mom; of course I'm like Dad. No, I'm not being safe; I'm a half-blood that word means nothing to me." Annabeth and Sophia were laughing out loud by the time she was done.

"Charlotte?" Sophia choked out. Charlie glared at her.

"You should hear her middle name. It's _much _worse." Annabeth giggled.

"What about getting in trouble? What do you say when she asks about that?" I asked her grinning myself.

"Nothing, I'm always in trouble. My brothers would shun me if I wasn't so I just don't tell her. She would let us stay a night or two. At least, she let Nico. And she liked him." Annabeth snorted loudly.

"If she liked Nico, she'll love these two." Charlie nodded in agreement.

"He's not a friendly person." She told us looking at her hands. I glanced at the clock.

"When can we get plane tickets? If that is what we're doing" Charlie looked at Annabeth.

"You got a computer?" Annabeth nodded, pointing towards the stairs.

"My dad has one in his study. Please don't hack it." Charlie grinned as she headed upstairs.

"I won't, I'm not that mean." I looked at Annabeth as we followed her.

"She's a hacker?" I asked. Annabeth nodded.

"Her dad invented the Internet. She's the best in her cabin on hacking. And trust me, that's saying something." I couldn't help looking up as we walked into her dad's office. Model airplanes hung from the ceiling. A table in the middle of the room had miniature figures of soldiers all over it. What caught my attention were the wall to wall bookshelves. As I ran my finger along the spines I could almost hear voices saying 'Daughter of Athena.' I turned back to the others. They all were clustered around a laptop on the desk. As I joined them Charlie was typing in different travel sites I recognized from my dads business trips. She turned to Annabeth almost pleadingly.

"This is a great computer. It's got so much protection _I_ would probably have trouble with it. Can I try?" Annabeth whacked her on the head.

"No. Just get the tickets and get off."

"Fine." Charlie grumbled. "It would be fun though." She wheedled. Annabeth glared at her.

"I said no Charlie." She growled shortly.

"You sound like my mother." Charlie muttered, typing quicker then anyone I'd ever seen. "Okay, we could go in an hour. Or there's one in three hours. What do you think?" Annabeth shrugged.

"I say the three hour one." Sophia said. "They usually tell you to be at the airport a couple hours before you leave. And it would give us more time to pack." There it was; the product of having a father who is always flying somewhere. Charlie and Annabeth agreed and Charlie clicked on the button to buy tickets.

"You have a credit card?" She asked. Annabeth pulled out her wallet and leaned over to type in her number. Charlie looked hurt.

"You don't trust me with your card?" Annabeth gave her a look that said 'duh I don't trust you. Why would I?' I agreed with her there. Once she bought our tickets we all went what little we had.

Half an hour later Annabeth drove us to the airport. And in no time we were through security and on the plane. I settled down and soon fell asleep.

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**A/N: This was kind of a filler chapter. There is still no mention of who Sophia's father is. There are lots of hints though. Please review. **


	5. Meet the Parents, Demigod Style

**Meet the Parents, Demigod Style ******

Thank you to my beta: Nellis Daughter of Athena.

**Disclaimers: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

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I woke with a start. Sophia was staring at me, her finger poised to poke me again. I looked around blurrily. "Whadaya want?" I asked. Charlie nudged me.

"We're almost there. Get packed up, we're gonna have to hurry." I cocked my head at her.

"Why do we have to hurry?" She glanced behind us nervously.

"I think there's something on this plane. I don't know what; I just feel something from our world. I've felt things like it before. One time it was before a Scythian Dracaenae attacked two of my brothers. It happened a lot during my first year at camp." She looked at me. "I felt it when that Nemean Lion found you."

I didn't know what a Scythian whatever was but I didn't really want to ask. Charlie mumbled to herself the rest of the flight. "Felt this one before...can't place it." I held my bag on my lap as the plane landed and we hurried off. I could feel Charlie get tenser and tenser as she practically pushed us through security. We were almost out the doors when I heard Charlie gasp. I turned around quickly to see her holding a knife to a homeless looking man with a ponytail. He had grabbed her upper arm and was grinning at her. I was torn between running to hide or staying with my only hope of getting to safety.

"You should be careful with that, you might hurt someone." Charlie glared up at him.

"What's your point?" He chuckled.

"You really don't recognize me do you? I guess I'll have to tell Apollo that the homeless look is a good disguise." Charlie studied him carefully.

"Dad?" The man, Hermes, nodded letting go of his daughter.

"Yeah, now let's get out of here before you get me arrested with that thing. I've done that more then once and I really don't want to do it again." We followed him out of the airport and into a cab. As squashed between Sophia and the door as I was, I didn't pay attention to the address he gave the driver. Wherever it was, it wasn't very far. We didn't talk on the way. Charlie seemed angry for some reason, I didn't know what to say and I was quite sure Sophia felt the same way. Hermes was busy on his cell phone. Once we stopped, got out and paid he lead us to a little pizza place on the corner. We got a table in the back and ordered. Charlie continued to glare at her father as he turned to me and Sophia.

"Well aren't you going to introduce us?" Charlie stared incredulously at him.

"Fine. Katalina, Sophia, this is my dad, Hermes, god of thieves and on his good days he covers messengers too. Dad, Katalina Markos and Sophia...what's your last name now?" Sophia shrugged.

"I guess it's my mom's last name, Bouvier, Sophia Bouvier. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too; uh...um...what do I call you?" I never had good first impressions. Sophia on the other hand was very charming if she wanted to be.

"Hermes will be fine Katalina. I'm one of the less formal gods." He glanced over at the counter. "So you two are my daughters excuse for traipsing all over this country searching for her boyfriend?" Charlie looked like she was wishing she had stabbed him in the airport. I looked at Sophia.

"Well she is taking us to camp. But we haven't heard anything about her boyfriend." I said nervously. "Sir." He nudged Charlie.

"So you haven't told them huh? Or just broke up with him? I won't be mad if you did, I always thought he had a shifty look to him." She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Dad, the first time you saw him with me you threatened to turn him into a rat and feed him to George. Of course he looked shifty around you; he was looking for the nearest exit!" Hermes sighed as though he had this argument all the time.

"When I decide to go visit one of my few daughters and find her on top of a boy in black sucking his face off I'm going to be concerned." Charlie repeatedly slammed her head into the table.

"Whatever Dad. The answer is no, I didn't break up with him." Hermes cursed under his breath at this news, and then he suddenly looked at Sophia.

"You don't know who your dad is do you?" She shook her head. "Well I can safely say I'm almost positive it's not me." He glanced at his daughter, who was still banging her head into the table. "Well I just wanted to see my girl and give you all some advice." Charlie's mood quickly changed.

"What is it?" She asked hurriedly.

"Get to camp as soon as you can." Charlie snorted.

"Like we don't try already?" Her father glared at her.

"I'm serious; the gods felt something big a few days ago. We don't know what it is yet. But we do know that it's huge. Promise you'll get to safety as fast as possible." We all nodded. Hermes stood up and held out his arms to Charlie. "Now give me a hug before I leave." She got up and hugged him tightly.

"We miss you Dad, me and Mom, you should come visit more." He looked at her sadly.

"I wish I could Sunshine, but you know how busy I am." She nodded as he said goodbye to me and Sophia. "I'll see what I can find about your dad Sophia." He told her. We all watched as he walked out the door and disappeared. Charlie looked wistfully after him.

"You okay Charlie?" Sophia asked. She nodded turning back to us.

"When you meet your parents you'll understand." A waitress came over and sat down a large pizza. We thanked her and dug in.

"So what's next?" I asked.

"Probably find a bus stop. Get tickets as soon as we can." She reached over to grab a slice of the pizza.

"But where are we going? Where are the tickets for?" I said looking at my watch. We'd already been on the road two whole days, not counting the ones at Safe Haven.

"As close to Covington as possible."

"Why not Covington itself?" Sophia asked. Charlie continued chewing as she answered.

"There isn't a station in Covington for the bus. We can get some more money at my moms, or at least a car." She reached back over to grab what was her second or third piece. I don't know how she had eaten with all the talking she'd been doing but she had. "I love pizza." She said with her mouth full.

"Lovely. So why were you angry to see your dad if you miss him so much?" I asked trying not to watch her eat.

"I wasn't really mad at him, I was scared. He scared me at the airport and then he had that news..." She trailed off as she looked at her hands. "I wonder if it has anything to do with Nico."

"That's another thing, was your dad telling the truth about your motives for taking us to camp? Are you really only doing this so you can look for Nico?" Charlie looked at us guiltily.

"Sorta. I'm hoping he'll have been to visit my mom or Percy, Annabeth's boyfriend. Actually I was hoping he might have been to her place too. But I'm not gonna take off and leave you. I'm just going to look around the places we'll be anyway." That sounded reasonable to me and I probably would do the same thing in her shoes.

"So we're going to go to the bus stop after supper?" Sophia asked. Charlie nodded looking at her watch.

"As soon as you two finish eating we'll go." It didn't take long before we were done. What did take a long tome was finding the stop. It took so long in fact that by the time we found it Charlie and Sophia were falling asleep. Mostly Sophia, who crashed as soon as the sun went down. I took money from Charlie and bought us three one-way tickets to Louisville KY. Then I dragged them both on the bus to wait because it didn't leave for another hour or so. Both of them were out like lights before the bus left. I couldn't sleep right away so I looked through the maps they had until we made our only transfer. After helping the other girls through that I son got tired myself and curled up next to Sophia and slept.

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The first thing I saw when I woke up was Charlie, curled up in a ball in her seat. I began to move around trying not to wake Sophia, who had decided sometime in the night that my lap was a good pillow. Charlie raised her head off the chair.

"Where are we?" she asked hoarsely.

"Almost there I think. It's about five in the morning." I looked at Sophia, sleeping peacefully she looked so young, too young to be on her own. "How far to Covington is it from Louisville?" Charlie sat up.

"'Bout forty-five minutes drive I'd guess. I'll call my mom when we get there and she can come get us." I nodded as Sophia began to stir.

"When we gonna be there?" She said rubbing her eyes.

"Fifteen minutes." Charlie replied rummaging through her bag. "When we get off I'll need to find a water fountain or pay phone ASAP."

"Why a water fountain?" Sophia asked.

"Demigod communication. IM, Iris message." It made no sense to me but I was new. Charlie was right about when we got there. It was exactly fifteen minutes later that we got off the bus.

"Okay. Let's find a phone or something." We looked around and found nothing. "Excuse me sir?" Charlie was tugging on the sleeve of a man's shirt. "Could we please use your phone? Our mom was supposed to come get us but I told her the wrong time and now I can't get a hold of her to tell her." The man she was terrorizing looked like he wanted to call the police. I was about to drag Charlie away when she snapped her fingers loudly. The guy did this weird little jerk and handed her his cell.

"Thank you." She said, quickly punching in a number. "Hello? Hey Mom, it's Charlie. Yeah I know I don't call enough, I'm sorry Mom, Mom! I'm at the bus stop, can you come get me? Yes the one in Louisville. Well can you send Scotty or something? OK, see you in a bit." She hung up and handed the phone back. "Thanks again." The guy walked off looking dazed.

"What did you do to him?" I asked as we headed down the street.

"The Mist. It's what keeps mortals from seeing what goes on in out part of the world. I made him think he knew us so he would give me the phone."

"Isn't that sorta illegal? I mean don't they have rules against that?" Sophia wanted to know. Charlie shrugged.

"Probably, I don't always pay attention to rules." She pointed at a McDonalds. "Let's get something to eat while we wait." As we ordered I wondered if I should scold Charlie. I decided she knew what she was doing most of the time. We got some breakfast and then walked back to the stop. I read a book Annabeth gave me on ancient Greek, Charlie and Sophia played hangman, if you've never seen hangman played by two kids with dyslexia you've never seen a really good game of hangman. The time flew by and soon Charlie stood up and pointed down the street at a truck coming towards us. It parked and a man with black hair got out.

"Charlie, is that you?" She hugged him laughing.

"It's me Scotty; I've grown since Christmas haven't I?"

"I'll say, and dyed your hair. Your Ma will have somethin' to say about that."

"After I got the tattoos, I doubt that anything will surprise her. Oh, Scotty, this is Katalina Markos and Sophia Bouvier. I'm taking them to camp with me. Guys, this is my step-dad, Scotty." He looked at us, then Charlie.

"Does your mother know?" She shook her head.

"OK, however you want it." He reached out his hand and we both shook it. "It's nice to meet you girls. We've got a bit of a drive ahead of us so we better get goin'" All of us piled into his truck and pulled down the street, and soon we were on a expressway. Scotty and Charlie chatted for a while about somebody named Ryan, who was missing Charlie.

"So I take it you two aren't sisters? You don't look like it." I looked at Sophia; we were always being told we looked exactly alike. We did both have blond hair though Sophia's was more of a dirty blond. That was the only similarity between us however. We had been the only ones to see that until now.

"No we aren't blood sisters. We did grow up together thinking we were." Scotty nodded, not asking questions. I didn't know how much he knew about us but he probably heard things about the kids at camp. I glanced out the window at a sign, Covington, 15m.

"We're almost there right?" Charlie nodded.

"Actually we're closer then that. We live a little ways outside of the center of Covington." Scotty leaned over towards me.

"About five minutes." He was right, it wasn't much longer and we were parking in front of a little house with a long porch. As we got out a little boy came running out of the door.

"Charie! Charie! You're home!" Charlie turned around laughing as he crashed into her legs. He had the same chocolate colored hair she did and looked about four.

"Hey Midget, how've you been?" He giggled as she picked him up, swinging him around in a circle before hugging him.

"Good. I missed you." He looked at me and Sophia shyly.

"I missed you too Ry, these are my friends, Katalina and Sophia. And this is Ryan, my little brother." He waved at us as we all made our way to the house. We had just reached the porch steps when a woman came out. She was where Charlie and Ryan got their hair, but while Ryan had Scotty's brown eyes and Charlie her fathers gray/green ones, her mom had deep blue eyes that seemed to know your every secret.

"Charlie." She said grabbing her children in a tight hug.

"Ma...can't breath...losing...air...supply." Her mother let go with a light smack. "Ma, this is-"

"Katina and Sophia." Ryan cut in. His mother laughed as she took him from Charlie.

"I'm sorry; Ry has trouble with his L's and other things. What are your names?"

"Katalina and Sophia." I answered. She smiled at us both.

"Well you already met Ryan and Scotty obviously. I'm Sylvia Daniels, Charlie's mom."

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**A/N: Little hints about Nico in this chapter. If you want the full story on how Hermes found out about Charlie and Nico keep watching my other PJO fic: Charlie, Daughter of Hermes. Please review.**


	6. Pictures of the Past

**Pictures of the Past**

Sorry it took so long. I'm having a really busy summer.

Thanks to my beta: Nellis Daughter of Athena.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.****

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We followed Sylvia through a room with shelves of movies lining the walls and into the kitchen. "So why aren't you at camp?" Scotty asked, bringing up the rear.

"I got sent to help these two, well Katalina, Sophia wasn't old enough to be on our radar. She just sort of happened. So we're hoping we can stay and maybe borrow a car. Can we use one of yours?"

"No, we need both right now. But I know someone that always has an extra car." Sylvia sat down and let Ryan loose. He ran off into another room, while we joined Sylvia at the table. Scotty put down our bags and headed upstairs.

"Who? Not the Perrys?" Charlie looked a little apprehensive as Sylvia nodded.

"The whole family's nuts about cars, if anyone has a spare one, it's them." Charlie still looked less then thrilled by this.

"Fine, but I'll go when _he's_ not there" Sylvia glared at her daughter.

"You'll have to talk to him eventually."

"Well I won't today."

"If he's there, you will. You should probably go soon if you want to leave tomorrow." Charlie got up and jerked her head toward the stairs.

"C'mon you two, I'll take you up to my room, you can put your stuff there."

"You're going over there. I'm not doing it for you." Charlie rolled her eyes as we grabbed our bags.

"I know Ma. I'll go in a little bit." We followed her upstairs and into her room. It was painted light yellow but there was one bright purple wall. Above the bed there were four frames with photos in them. Each picture featured a group of kids in orange T-shirts.

"Are these from camp?" Sophia asked, sitting on the bed.

"Yeah, that's my cabin, Cabin eleven. I've got more pictures somewhere but I'm gonna go get us a car for tomorrow. You two can stay here if you want or come along." She looked as though she wanted us to come, but at the same time wanted us to stay.

"I want to stay. I'd like to get to know you're mom." That was typical Sophia, actually _wanting_ to hang out with other kids' parents. I mean don't get me wrong, I get along with adults, lots of times more then other people my age. But I don't really like spending time with people I just met.

"I'd like to come if that's okay." Charlie nodded.

"Its fine Sophia, if you're staying here you can do whatever. Take a shower, get online, watch Ryan, I don't know how long until you can bathe again so I recommend that. We should be back in an hour or so." Sophia nodded and followed us back downstairs. We told Sylvia our plans and she promised to have supper ready when we got back.

"How are we getting there?" I asked, as we headed outside. Charlie pointed at a shed next to the house.

"We'll use my old bikes. It's about a ten minute ride." She got out two of the most beat up and dusty bikes I've ever seen. After she made sure I was ready she hopped on her own and took off onto the road. I followed wondering who we were going to see and what they had done to make Charlie nervous.

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We stopped at a house similar to Charlie's. The only differences were the color and this one had no porch. Charlie knocked on the door, shifting from one foot to the other. A woman about ten years older then Sylvia answered.

"Charlie? Charlie Walker? Is that you?" She asked, smiling. Charlie nodded as she was hugged tightly for the second time that day.

"Hi Mrs. Perry, this is my cousin Katalina, how're you?" Mrs. Perry's smile got bigger.

"I'm fine honey, but it's not me you came to see is it?" She jerked her thumb toward to house. "He's in the back." Charlie's face got tight.

"Thanks Mrs. Perry." She turned and headed behind the house.

"When you're done, come in the house and I'll have cookies for you. It was nice to meet you Katalina." We waved as we rounded the house.

"She seems nice, why didn't you want to come?"

"She isn't the reason I didn't want to come, he is." She was pointing at an old rusty truck that screamed 'hick'. I was confused until a boy a couple years older then Charlie stepped out from behind it. He had light brown hair and was wearing a white T-shirt and jeans as hot as it was. Even I had to admit he was cute. "Hey Toby," Charlie said, quietly. The boy looked up, surprised.

"Charlie? What're you doin' here?" Charlie glanced around the yard, looking anywhere but at his face.

"I was wonderin' if you had a car I could borrow." I noticed her accent became more pronounced when she talked to someone from her home. Toby smiled a small smile.

"That's my Charlie, never beatin' 'round the bush. No 'how've you been Toby?' 'What's new with you?' Just straight to the point. Never mind that she never comes home from camp either. Never calls, writes, or anything." His smile had slipped away. Charlie looked like she wanted to find a hole to climb in and never come out.

"I'm sorry Toby," she whispered. "This is my cousin Katalina. How have you been?" Toby waved at me and sat down on a bucket.

"I'm fine I guess. Been workin' with my dad. You say you need to borrow a car?" Charlie walked over and leaned against the truck, I joined her.

"Yeah, somethin' that can hold three of us. I'll get it back to you, I promise." Toby raised an eyebrow.

"Really Charlie? Don't lie to me. You aren't good at it." She smiled a little and rubbed her neck.

"You're the only person who could always tell when I was lyin'. Okay, okay, I'll _try_ and get it back to you. Damn you're a hardass." Toby grinned and nudged her leg.

"Girl, I'm easier-goin' then anyone else you've ever known." Charlie shook her head.

"No you're not. Cas-my friend from camp was." I glanced at her, confused. Who was she talking about? Toby seemed to know however, because he stood up and walked around toward the barn. When he turned back to look at us there was a worried look on his face.

"Still Charlie? You've got to try and get over that. Hey, are you still with that guy?" Charlie looked a little annoyed.

"Yes, not that it's any of your business."

"Not any of my business? I'm lookin' out for you Charlie. He doesn't seem safe. I swear I heard him talkin' to somebody once." He stopped at the look on Charlie's face. She had looked angry but now she was just confused.

"So Toby? Lot's of people talk to others. It's normal." Toby rolled his eyes at her.

"But there wasn't anyone there Charlie. Is that normal?" I was starting to think I should leave. Both of them seemed angry.

"I think you're a little obsessed with findin' somethin' wrong with him. Why do you care so much anyway?" Toby looked uncomfortable.

"I told you Charlie, I don't trust him. I think you could do better" Charlie appeared to be amused by this.

"Like who Toby? You?" She let out a snort of laughter. Toby looked hurt.

"Maybe. Look, I'd at least be better then him. I've known you since you were born, he's known you for what? Four years?" Charlie looked serious now.

"He knows things about me that you wouldn't understand. Things I can't tell you." She shook her head at him. "I don't have to defend my life to you. Show me a car and we'll leave." Toby opened his mouth but the look on Charlie's face stopped him. The rest of the visit was almost silent. Except for Toby explaining how the car worked and he a Charlie making plans for her to get the car the next day no one spoke. After they finished their very short, civil exchange, we said good-bye to Mrs. Perry and headed home.

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When we got back Sylvia told us it would be a while before supper was ready so we went looking for Sophia. We found her on the floor in Charlie's room with a stack of photo albums. Her hair was wet and she had changed into some of her clothes from Laney's. I joined her on the floor as Charlie plopped down on the bed.

"Which one is that? Before camp or after?" She asked. Sophia closed the book and picked up a new one.

"Those were baby pictures, I don't know about this one." She opened it to the first page and giggled. The first picture was of a little girl with long braids and a blonde boy a couple years older. The funny part was the fact that they were both covered in blue paint. Behind them was a white house, well mostly white, as far up as they could reach was painted the same blue. "Who's the boy?" Sophia asked, Charlie grinned.

"That's Toby; he's the guy we're getting a car from. I think we're four and six in that picture." She laughed a little. "That's right after Ma and Mrs. Perry painted his room. I think it's still the same color." As she and Sophia continued looking through the album I picked up one from the bottom of the pile. The first picture was of a younger Charlie with her mom and Hermes. A birthday cake sat in front of them and counting the candles told me she was turning eleven. "That was the day before I left for camp. Scotty took the picture and Ma was pregnant with Ryan. I knew something was up 'cuz Dad never came to my birthday parties." Charlie looked over my shoulder as I turned the page. Now there were pictures of different kids, all in orange T-shirts. Charlie wasn't in most of them. There were a couple of the same three people outside a worn looking cabin. Two boys that looked about fifteen and seventeen were laughing as a girl their age yelled at them. Through the pictures however their faces changed from amusement to fear. Charlie smiled at the photos.

"That's Travis and Connor, they're my brothers. And the girl is Katie Gardner; I don't remember what they did to her but if you want to see what she did back turn the page." I flipped the page and began to laugh, Katie stood with her arms crossed in front of the cabin. The boys were hanging upside down from the roof by vines around the legs. I looked through a few more pages of group and action shots before finding some of Charlie. The Charlie in these pictures had a long braid over one shoulder and no streaks. There were some of her with Travis and Connor, seeing them close up made me see how alike they all looked. But one picture in particular caught my eye. It was of Charlie with three other kids. One boy and two girls, the boy had the youngest girl on his back, she didn't look any older then nine. Charlie and the other girl, a redhead, were in front of the others with their arms around each other. The boy I recognized after a minute as Mark from Safe Haven, but the girls were strangers.

"Who is this?" I asked, showing Charlie the picture. Her face clouded slightly.

"That's Mark obviously; he looks pretty much the same. The girl on his back is his sister, Tara." Now I remembered her, but she looked so different then. The girl in the picture was smiling and happy. With a jolt I realized she was my age. She'd seemed so old just a few days earlier.

"Who's the other girl?" Sophia asked, leaning over. Charlie frowned slightly.

"That's Cassi Columbine, she was my best friend that summer."

"What happened to her?" Charlie looked at Sophia dully.

"Can't you guess? She's dead." I couldn't say I wasn't surprised; it seemed to be a common fate for half-bloods. But the girl in the picture looked so carefree and young, eleven, maybe twelve, how much longer had she lived after the picture was taken? I might have asked Charlie, but we were called down for supper. It was probably good I didn't, or what happened later could've been worse.

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A/N: So it took almost two months but here it is, chapter 6. Hope you like it, and review, and all that good stuff. I also want to thank all the people who favorited this story or have it on alert or reviewed:

_Nellis Daughter of Athena  
mirifaery  
Annie Get Your Board  
kittyxx92  
Lady Whimsy  
eileene  
Mr. Technology  
thisismimi  
wolf-fullmoon-times2  
xx-I-love-books-xx  
mattson718_

**I hope some of you are still reading. **


	7. Nightmares and Departure

**Nightmares and Departure**

**Disclaimers: Don't own anything you recognize.**

**Thank you, thank you, thank you to my beta Nellis, Daughter of Athena. It's been so long since I updated I'm surprised she remembered me.**

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Supper was fairly quiet. Scotty and Sylvia asked me and Sophia about ourselves and Charlie about camp, other then that we didn't talk. After we finished eating, Charlie took us back upstairs.

"I'm gonna check my email. If you want to take a shower it's right down the hall." Sophia lifted her still damp hair in response. Charlie shrugged and dumped her bag out on the floor. There were some more shirts and pants, along with a sweatshirt and a laptop. This was obviously what she was looking for. She turned it on and waited for it to start. "You can go ahead and take a shower, I'm waiting until morning." Now that she was away from Toby, her accent had gone back to being a slight hint rather then the thick drawl it was around him. I grabbed some clean clothes from out of my own back pack and headed down the hall. "It's the second door on the right." Charlie called after me. When I got out she and Sophia were huddled over the laptop giggling at something. I leaned over to see a video of three boys singing Mary had a Little Lamb as dramatically as possible.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Jesse, Kyle, and Little Mark. They're Camp Half-Bloods own Jonas Brothers. Little Mark and Jesse are sons of Apollo. Kyle is your little brother Katalina. This was their performance for last summer's talent show." I studied the boys. Kyle had my hair and wore glasses, both Jesse and Mark had shaggy light brown hair. Jesse's was curly at the ends.

"Do you always have a talent show?" Charlie shook her head.

"We have them in the winter for year-rounders. Last summer they had one because some of the summer kids wanted to 's cabin is pushing for a dance this summer."

"Ooo, fun."Charlie stared at Sophia.

"I don't dance, ever." Honestly, I had to agree with Charlie. Dancing really isn't my thing. We asked more questions about camp and then we got out the sleeping bag. Charlie insisted she would sleep on the floor and we could have the bed. As we argued with her Ryan came flying through the door. Charlie helped him turn his shirt around (it was on backwards) and hugged him.

"Good night Ryan," Sophia called. He hugged her too.

"Night Sophia." He even hugged me on the way out. Charlie slipped out of her jeans and yanked on an XL T-shirt.

"Do you wanna watch a movie again? I have a couple on my laptop." We ended up watching the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. By the end Sophia was almost asleep. Charlie hoisted her onto the bed while I used the bathroom. When I got back Charlie had snuggled into her sleeping bag with only the top of her head showing. I climbed in next to Sophia, pushing at her so she'd share the bed.

"Good night," I whispered, there wasn't a answer from Sophia at all.

"Night Katalina," Charlie called back, sounding tired. After a couple minutes I could tell I was the only one still awake.I couldn't get comfortable enough to fall asleep.I couldn't stop thinking about the future and Sophia was digging her knee into my side. It took me a good twenty minutes to settle down. I was drifting off when I was startled awake by a horrible sound. Charlie was screaming, her eyes squeezed shut. I jumped off the bed and was moving over to her when Sylvia opened the door.

"Don't shake her Katalina. It doesn't wake her up and sometimes it makes them worse." As she crouched down next to me and Sophia sat up slowly, once she's asleep it takes a lot to wake her. "Charlie? It's me honey, your mother. You're dreaming again, you're home with me and your brother." Charlie's screaming got quieter but didn't stop completely and her eyes remained pressed tightly shut. "Charlotte, wake up**, **you aren't fighting any more. Charlotte Carolina you can't save her." Charlie gave one last awful scream and her eyes snapped open, they were wet with tears.

"Mama, it-I-she _died_." Sylvia hugged her daughter savagely.

"I know, I know, you're safe now." She looked toward the door, Scotty had come at some point and was standing, watching us. "You're safe now." Sylvia repeated, rocking back and forth, murmuring a song into Charlie's ear. Once again I felt awkward and wondered if I should leave. Sophia rubbed her eyes.

"What happened?" Sylvia glanced up at her, then at me.

"Charlie has nightmares."

"But she didn't have any on the way here." I said, thinking back.

"They come and go. Did you three look at pictures earlier?" I nodded, pointing to the photo albums in the corner. Sylvia sighed as Charlie lay back down. "Will you be all right?" Charlie nodded, curling into a ball under her covers. Scotty moved aside as Ryan appeared next to him. The little boy walked over to his sister.

"Whatsa matter?" He asked, looking concerned. Sylvia smiled weakly as she got up.

"I had a bad dream Ry. I'll be okay." Ryan looked back at his parents.

"Can I stay with Charlie?" Before either Sylvia or Scotty could answer Charlie pulled her brother down next to her.

"Sure you can, get in here." Scotty left and Sylvia followed as Ryan huddled in the sleeping bag next to Charlie. I climbed back on the bed, wanting to ask and knowing I probably shouldn't.

OoOoOo

The next morning all of my roommates were gone when I woke up. Looking around the room I was they had packed up their things before leaving. I pulled on some shorts and my owl shirt and made the bed before going downstairs. When I got to the kitchen Sophia was holding Ryan and Charlie was talking to Scotty, looking as happy as ever. Sylvia smiled at me as he came out of the bathroom.

"Good morning Katalina, how do you like your eggs?"

"Doesn't matter, whatever you're making is fine." In ten minutes we were all sitting down to eat. Scotty finished first and left for work. Once Charlie was done she grabbed the phone to call Toby while Sophia and I finished eating. After we put our plates in the sink we went back upstairs so I could pack.

"Should we try to talk to Charlie about last night?" Sophia asked, grabbing my pajamas out from under the bed. I shook my head.

"No, she'll tell us if she wants to. And besides, she doesn't seem to upset." Sophia rolled her eyes at me as we shouldered bags and went back down the stairs.

"You have no idea how people work do you? She's hiding her feelings from us." I decided not to press the issue, Sophia seemed a little touchy. Toby was already there when we got outside. Charlie was talking to her mom, being careful not to look at the boy three feet away.

"I don't feel right about you driving. You don't have a licence, you aren't even sixteen." Charlie rolled her eyes at her mother's worry. The news that she didn't have a licence worried me too but I didn't think I should say anything.

"Ma, I've been driving before. Be happy this time the car actually belongs to me...sort of." Sylvia opened her mouth, probably to scold, but Charlie distracted her by taking Ryan. "Bye Midget, take care of Mama okay?" The three-year-old nodded seriously and hugged her before climbing down to play. Charlie hugged her mother and walked past Toby to the car without saying a word.

"Thanks for letting us stay here." I murmured to Sylvia as Sophia hugged good-bye to Ryan.

"Yeah, thanks," Sophia said, as she stood.

"It was a pleasure to have you." I know she meant it. The car horn beeped loudly. Sylvia made a face. "My patient daughter is ready. Thanks for lending her a car with a horn Toby." He smiled a one-sided smile and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Sorry Mrs. Daniels." Sylvia waved a hand.

"It's fine Toby, but you two better go." We stepped off the porch and climbed into the car. I got in front while Sophia settled in the back with our things. We waved as Charlie pulled out onto the road, Everything was silent for a minute until Charlie grinned.

"We're on the road again!"

OoOoOo

We rode along listening to music and chatting back and forth. Around noon we stopped for lunch at a little restaurant. Charlie checked three different places before she picked one, telling us that we should stick around places where there were lots of people. I took it as a sign that I'd been around her enough to know why, I didn't even have to settled in the back, watching the door.

"What can I get you?" We all jumped at the sound of the waitress' voice.

"Uh, a chocolate shake, no whipped cream please. And a burger." Charlie gained her voice first. Sophia ordered the same thing but with a vanilla shake, and I got a water with a salad.

"Charlie, something feels wrong." We both looked at Sophia, she was gazing around the room fearfully."This place doesn't feel right." Charlie nodded and pointed carefully to a pair of teenage boys.

"I think it's them, keep talking and don't look right at them." I started up a conversation about movies with Sophia, trying not to look behind me at the boys. When the waitress came back with our drinks Charlie asked if we could have our food to go.

"Should we leave now or wait for the food?" Sophia asked, unrolling her napkin. Charlie shook her head.

"No, we'll wait for the food, we need it and it might be a while before we stop again." Ten minutes later our food came out and the boys still hadn't moved, they didn't seem to be looking at us but I could feel eyes watching me. We got up and started out of the building, they stood as we passed. "Don't do anything until I tell you to." Charlie muttered. We almost made it to the car when one of them called out.

"Is that you Hermes girl?" Charlie heaved a sigh and turned. The one who called to us was the skinnier one, next to him was a heavy guy.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The boys laughed and began to separate, circling us.

"Don't you recognize us? We know you, not many girls in Cabin 11 are there? And that hair is very...interesting, hard to forget too." Charlie crossed her arms, still not looking scared.

"Enough with the noise, who are you?" The boys exchanged looks, still laughing.

"I'm Phobos and he's Deimos, you do know those names don't you?"

"You're fear and terror." Sophia and Charlie both looked as surprised as I felt when I spoke.

"Very good. Blonde hair, brains, I'm guessing you found an Athena child." I was trying to figure out if that was an insult or a complement when they attacked. The bigger guy was almost on top of me before I remembered my weapons. I pulled out the little knife and stuck it in my pencil sharpener, turning the sharpener into a sword. The guy, Deimos, looked a little confused by the sudden sword but kept coming. I swung up and hit his sword, where did his come from? I could hear Charlie cursing everything from our opponents to her shoelaces. There was no sound from Sophia, I tried to ignore the dread when I didn't hear anything from her, if I didn't I'd be dead. Charlie started screaming, like she had the night before, Phobos was laughing loudly. I turned to look, Charlie was unarmed on the ground, I ducked a blow from Deimos and threw my knife at Phobos. It hit his side and he started to bleed golden blood. Deimos yelled something in Greek and attacked harder. I tripped over something and fell on my back. Deimos stood over me, grinning madly. "_I'm going to die, I am really going to die out here in this parking lot." _I thought, feeling strangly calm.I tried to lift my sword but my arm wouldn't work. Deimos lifted his own weapon, I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the final blow. It never came, instead I heard a squelching sound and a moan of pain. I opened my eyes to see Deimos fall over bleeding just like Phobos had. Sophia stood behind him, looking angrier then I'd ever seen her and holding a steak knife.

"You. Leave. My. Sister. Alone." I stood shakily and looked around for Charlie. She was crouched down holding her head a few feet away. Phobos had disappeared and Deimos glowing.

"Look away, he'll blind you if you don't.." Charlie's voice sounded weak but we listened. Even through my closed eyes I saw a flash of light. When I opened them Deimos was gone and Charlie was standing up.

"Nice throw Katalina, thanks for that."

"What about me? I saved her life you know." We both turned to look at Sophia.

"Is that a steak knife?" Charlie asked, sounding amused. Sophia nodded.

"I got it from the restaurant, why?" Charlie snorted and picked up the squashed bag of food.

"You just killed a godling with a steak knife, I think you might be my new favorite person." With that we all got back in the car and drove away without a backwards glance.

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**A/N: Again, sorry it took so long. I have a lot of story ideas and not enough time to write them down.**


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